Russia ups hypersonic game with Zircon strike on Ukraine

Sidharth Kaushal mentions in a January 2023 Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) [report] that Ukraine has few civilian infrastructure targets that would justify the use of costly and scarce Zircon missiles. Kaushal notes that Russia tends to use a mix of low-cost drones and cruise missiles against Ukraine, showing a desire to minimize the use of expensive and difficult-to-replace capabilities. Still, Kaushal says hypersonic weapons such as the Zircon are the latest iteration of evolution and counter-evolution between missile-centric Russian forces and Western navies, with the former’s submarine-launched hypersonic weapons such as the Zircon underscoring the need for improved anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities by the latter.